Post Birth Care

The birth is over, the pups are dry and feeding, and the real work begins. The first six weeks after whelping ask a lot of your bitch and even more of you, because warmth, hygiene, feeding and weight gain all need watching at once.

This collection covers that stretch: heat lamps and bulbs, absorbent bedding and pads, feeding support for mum and pups, worming, and the monitoring gear that tells you whether things are on track.

Warmth, Hygiene and a Settled Nest

Newborns cannot regulate their own body heat, so the nest needs to be warm at one end and cooler at the other, letting the litter move to where they are comfortable. A heat lamp with a proper dome cover and a stable stand does this well, and pairing it with a room thermometer and hygrometer takes the guesswork out. Gentle warmth from below, such as a puppy heating pad, suits low ceilinged pens. Change puppy pads often, as a clean, dry nest prevents most of the skin and eye irritation that turns up in the early weeks.

Feeding, Weight and Worming

A nursing bitch may eat two or three times her usual ration, so free feed a high quality diet and keep water available at all times. Weigh every pup daily on accurate puppy scales: steady daily gain is the best early warning system you have, and a pup that stalls or drops needs attention that day. Keep milk replacer on hand in case you need to top up a large litter. Worming usually begins in the first fortnight and repeats regularly, but follow the schedule your vet sets for your wormer and your region.

Just whelped a litter? Explore the RPBA collection of post birth care supplies to keep mum comfortable and every pup gaining.